1001 Albums Generator
Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman by John Zorn

Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman

John Zorn

1989
2.26
Rating
21474
Votes
1
35%
2
25%
3
23%
4
11%
5
5%
Distribution
Genres: Jazz Styles: Experimental, Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz

Reviews (page 6 of 8)

Do I have the energy for this? Not as bad as I was expecting. A bit monotonous but it is avant guarde jazz after all, not as hardcore as it purports to be. Side two a bit more accessible.

Only listened to a bit of this on YouTube as it doesn’t seem to be on Apple Music or Qobuz. Had to turn it off as it sounded like all the instruments were being played by different people in different places at different times. Just a cacophony of noises.

Juu ei. Ei minulle.

I thought I would like the shorter jazz pieces, but this just sounds like chaos. Did not finish. 1 star.

This is what I imagine Jazz Maverick, Howard Moon, listens to

I cannot

not for me

Spy vs Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman is a 1989 album by John Zorn. Interesting this came to me during the free jazz kick I've been on recently. John Zorn is an artist I've overlooked from this scene. Particularly because he came to prominence much later than the heyday of free jazz... like over a decade later. This record was apparently very inspired by the hardcore punk movement that was happening at the time. Pretty evident by the blistering fast and also short-length tracks on side one. Side 2 is more tame with a bit more digestible rhythms. Something that is particularly interesting about this record is the production. Zorn recorded this with a quintet - 2 altos, 2 drummers, and a bass player. Zorn is mixed in the right channel while Berne is in the left. Although I have a hard time getting that stereo separation with headphones. Maybe because I listened to an ultra-compressed Youtube upload. The drums are also mixed weird. The toms and floor drums are mixed HEAVY. So much so that you can't really hear the bass. There's a lot of reverb on them too. Gives off the vibe that they're playing in a huge empty warehouse. This project was obviously done with a lot of intent and passion. The dated production was probably by design. Still an interesting listen with no dull moments. But why is there no actual Ornette Coleman records on this list?!?!?

Really love John Zorn's chaotic music.

Truly, truly, terrible! I think Spotify removed this album to save the world from the pain it causes. YouTube of course had it, and by the end my ears were only bleeding a little. So maybe not the worst thing on the list, but it is pretty far down there!

I liked the energy in this but there are two many instances where the improv devolved into noise for me.

very noisy!

I guess I needed to hear this before I die. I just don't know what to do with it now. An absolute onslaught of sounds that rained down on me relentlessly until my brain was utterly overwhelmed and rendered unable to comprehend what was happening, so I listened to the whole thing in one go. I don't know if this is hell or heaven. I don't know anything anymore. I feel like a biblically accurate angel just manifested in front of me and told me to be not afraid.

Well, I did get kind of a kick from listening to this. "Thrash jazz" is an objectively funny genre term. It's certainly different than anything else I've heard so far. Kudos to the drummers on this beast in particular. Having the saxophonists mixed to opposite channels is an interesting choice too. It's certainly not a leisurely listen. I wouldn't even call it recreational. I'm also bummed out that I often can't really hear the bass, although apparently one is present. Highlights: Enfant, Blues Connotation, Ecars, Feet Music

never go full experimental

That.. sure was an album.

This was unexpected. Wild stuff. Nigh unlistenable to my ear but jeez, the manic energy. Advanced level freaky business. I see its merit, I just don't want to have to listen to it.

Ef eitthvert ykkar var að velta því fyrir sér hvernig pönk jazz hljómar, þá myndi ég segja að það hljómi eins og 40 mínútur af ruslatunnuendi.

Strangely compelling, but extremely tiring as your ears constantly try to adapt and search for structure and melody in a sea of chaos.

At the end of “Chippie” someone exclaims: “Oh my god”. Oh my god, indeed. This is a jazz album thanking Napalm Death in the liner notes! An absolutely horrendous introduction to both jazz, hardcore punk and grindcore. It really makes me appreciate the hours and hours of jazz I’ve already heard - if not I would have no idea what was going on here. Most of the time I still don’t, but after a while I start to grasp what Zorn is doing with Spy Vs. Spy. Especially towards the end the band start churning out exceptional renditions of compositions like “Feet Music” and “Mob Job”. I might be in dire need of a Xanax and another week of vacation - but as challenging as this might be, it is a record you should at least try listening to.

well that was unexpected

Not on Spotify. 0/5

Way too hectic for me

I’m all for experimental electronic jazz but wtf

I'm glad this is here because of the comments and because it made me think, like genuinely question myself and what is right and wrong and nice and not enjoyable. Who knows.

This is what I call "noise torture." I got through maybe a third of it but couldn't stand it. Definitely not for me. Some sort of experimental music.

Rating: 0/10 This is fucking shit, no words can describe how awful this is. Worst album so far and might go down as the worst album on this list.

This music was trash. I even like jazz, but there was no theme or variation, just a group of people vomiting up whatever notes came to mind. Awful trash

I, uh, didn’t quite get it.

Very impressive stuff, I could definitely feel the energy and talent of the musicians as they blasted their way through each song. While I do laud those that employ anarchist freedoms, I’m not a fan of jazz

Nothing but maddening saxophone and drum noise🥴 Worst album until now. 0/5

It's not on Spotify so I couldn't listen to it

es un nivel de free jazz que no comprendo

Woah! This is not what I expected, I don’t hate it although it does get a little bit noisy at times. Good background music for chilling or working.

Dioffdidndjdisjjdudbdbzisoaknabacwgwosjdvsjdbdbbsjudjdbdjixidbdbhxhsvdudjnxnxkcizhagsidizvsnxbdvsbsbaiskhruegsgwudoidbzbasndjdhdjjdhdjdnnxjfjfjfkfjfnfndvsgjfidnssjslwnebehdnndjdjfndn. FREEJAZZ!!!!!!!

Not available on Spotify :(

no ❤️

Not for me

Fun mix-up to jazz, classical. First time hearing of him. Like it!

Parece a banda do chaves...

Helemaal kut dit.

While I admire the concept, the result is a one trick pony gag that goes on too long. The kind of musical gag that only an insufferable hipster can attempt.

Jazz caótico. No se distingue del ruido sin más. Un 1.

Extra star for not caring in the slightest whether or not anybody would buy their music.

¿Poco amigable con quien lo escucha? Sí ¿Una propuesta interesante? También. Este es uno de los álbumes más interesantes de Jazz que escuchado, acercándose peligrosamente al no-wave y al noise con las interpretaciones de diferentes bateristas provenientes de la escena del metal. Cautivante, pero no sé si recomendable.

This album is technically very impressive, even if it isn’t exactly the kind of jazz I tend to listen to. I would definitely not say no to this live, though I feel as though I’d be a husk by the end as the energy would blow me away.

you can't be serious

Spy vs Spy Firstly, I love that this exists. Although I may not want to listen to experimental deconstructed thrash jazz it’s important to me that people make this kind of stuff.
Secondly, I love that I don’t have to listen to it. In actuality, despite being a difficult it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. It just sounds like a lot of free form and to be honest most normal jazz: lots of parping and daft drumming. As I listened on Youtube I have no idea of the individual tracks, and honestly it doesn’t matter as I don’t think discerning each track is the point. And one listen through is surely enough too. I’ve only given one star once and that was to Christina Aguilera. Despite that album being on the surface more listenable I still think it’s worse than this. At least this has intent, a sense of artistic purpose and doesn’t care if anyone likes it. That Christina album is so cynically conceived, produced and executed and so entirely limited in its worldview that it’s objectively awful. This may be significantly more on the unlistenable side of things but I believe it has artistic merit, and although it’s not for for me and I’ll never listen to it again I have a respect for it. Music can be many things for many people but context, intentions and ambitions matter beyond the response to the music itself, so I can’t just dismiss this as a one. Peversely tempted to go 3, but on my personal scale that would indicate that I might listen again, so it’s a 2. ⭐️⭐️ I also really like the album artwork.

Jazz is stupid and I don’t get it

It is STRIKING how powerful the tom drums and other floor drums just PUNCH through your headphones. Especially since they’re being banged on so constantly. I would love to know how one ends up liking this music as casual listening, how many holes you have to go through. Very interesting, very frenetic

Was in the mood. Wild stuff. Not at all for everyone

Unable to listen on any services, so I’ll drop a three star.

Noise. This guy has like a million albums on spotify and they all sound like my 16 month old smashing a little piano.

I can see how someone might like this. Its just not for me.

Really not good cacophonous in the worst way.

1.5 stars. Apparently this is a jazz saxophonist as tribute to jazz legend Ornette Coleman but done so in the style of thrash and hardcore punk. I mean ok but that’s just a cacophony. I kept skipping ahead hoping it’d get better but nope, pretty sure I’d get a migraine if I listened to the whole 40 minute album. Not enjoyable but gave an extra half star for what sounds like a cool concept that somebody out there I’m sure appreciates

Sounds like 2 drummers kicking a saxophonist down the stairs, while another saxophone screams for help, and a bassist nods along. Not an easy listen, but certainly unusual. One I would probably like more after listening to it a whole bunch of times. But I don't want to, so I won't be!

By far the most bizarre one I've got

Imagine the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, 8.0 magnitude, unexpected, and violent; but in a room full of instruments (especially saxophones). This is what this album sounds like, with the only difference being if exposed to the poor unexpecting province of Sichuan you'd have many more casualties than the 87,587 registered by the earthquake.

No. Just no. (Did not finish.)

Jag tvekade till en början efter att ha läst lite recensioner ifall om jag skulle leta upp det (fanns inte på Spotify) men när jag väl letade upp det så fastande jag lite. Trodde inte jag skulle lyssna på hela och det han jag tyvärr inte men det jag hörde, vilket var nästan hela plattan iallafall, var helt sjukt. Det var som om de hade dragit upp allt på max, alltså det går inte att göra det värre än såhär. Bara jazz kan ha sånt här kaos. Men ibland så fanns det lite normalt mitt i kaoset och det gjorde hela skiten lättare att lyssna på. Det var en ganska rolig lyssning egentligen så det får denna pluspoäng för.

Dear lord that was awful. I'm a little shocked I made it through the album. There were only brief moments that were in any way listenable. The rest was an attack on my ears and my soul.

I think maybe if I was smoking formaldehyde soaked cigarettes and madly charting conspiracy theories about how the postal service is full of lizard people on a white board in a basement, this music would totally work. Maybe.

Well, that’s done And now I know what being on cocaine sounds like.

Yeah i gave it a shot but i have to be at least three times as musically ascended to appreciate this

This album opens with all the frenetic energy of a rapid tumble down a staircase, and it maintains that momentum before relaxing into something just a little like traditional jazz for the second half. The dueling drums create a constant background rumble over which John Zorn and Tim Berne battle on saxophone, and occasionally the bass speaks up and makes itself known. I enjoyed this album a lot more than I expected to, and I'm quite glad to have listened to it at least once in my life. I suspect I'll be listening to it again, and maybe even subjecting some friends to it. The two saxophones playing in stereo creates some really cool effects, and all the instrumentation is really skillful. The musicians improvise with the confidence that tells you that they are really, really good at this. They could be playing smooth, commercially-acceptable jazz, but they *want* to play this. I often found myself grinning at inventive musical phrases that bounced around between the performers, and my toe was tapping along to most of these songs. Favorite track(s): "Feet Music," "Good Old Days," "Broad Way Blues"

Definitely free jazz

Terrible

awful noise

Ow, my freaking ears. You know, when I reviewed Trout Mask Replica, I quoted a YouTube comment that said "This sounds like an entire band falling down stairs, but they keep playing." Today I owe an apology to Captain Beefheart, because this is the album that truly sounds like an entire band falling down the stairs. This is all kinds of too much, but I kind of dig it conceptually anyway. Noisy and messy and totally nutso, but also creative and passionate and the absolute opposite of boring. It gets a 2 from me because it was not enjoyable to listen to on any level, but this is one a few of albums in this project that I'm never going to forget. Fave Tracks: None. Couldn't tell you my favorite tracks, because I heard it on YouTube and they all kind of run together. Couldn't keep up.

Made me feel sick. I don’t believe anyone actually listens to this. The ultimate pretentious ‘music’.

This album should have been called insects dodging traffic. Did they say everybody go to a different room, play you instrument as fast as you can and then we will put it together?? Organized chaos makes sense for one don't but over and over it's just noise and really loses it's purpose for me.

When this album started off I was concerned about the band's safety as they were clearly falling down a flight of stairs. But as the noise continued I realized that this is a very long flight of stairs or perhaps they were just tuning up. It turned out that it totally didn't matter if they were in tune or not because this album is a noisy piece of garbage. However, I did enjoy jumping around the room like crazy to this music. I got some pretty good cardio but it could've been so much better if Richard Simmons had been asked to do some vocals.

What the hell even is this? My ears feel tortured. Easily the worst album I’ve heard in my life.

FRANTIC & FRENZIED This will be my 1,046th album rated. There's so much boring music on the list I've come to really appreciate the ones that sound like no other. However, I still hated this ugh I never want to hear any of that again ha

did not listen

I don't understand why someone would do this.

This is a great album; the fact that this list doesn't contain much if any Ornette Coleman isn't Zorn's fault, and doesn't make this a worse album. It's a solid, great album.

Gear: Hifiman Arya Mix: Lo-Fi ohne Charme Musik: Grindcore Punk Jazz. W.T.F. 👀 Wertung: 🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♂️/5

Hmm. Hard to work to. Got better as it went through

56 seconds. That’s a new record! That’s the shortest amount of time I’ve spent listening to an album before I had to turn it the fuck off.

An assault on the ears with lulls just long enough to prepare you for the next assault. There is plenty of quality and enjoyability here for this to not be on the lowest ranked albums though.

Pretty interesting listen. Instrumental sax and drums album Standout songs: Broadway blues Space church Zig Zag

This gave me PTSD and made me shit myself.

It was good, but nothing to write home about.

This is way too cacophonous for me. I couldn’t get through it, so I listened to Ornette Coleman’s “Change for the Century” instead and that was beautiful.

This is strange and weird but like…I’ve never heard anything like it before. It’s an odd mix of jazz and hardcore. I think I sort of enjoyed it but it’s really hard to tell with something so obscure.

not very good. aggressive drums and horns ruin this

what a mess

Nee man.

I said “the streak continues” yesterday. And then the very next day the streak ended. I have claimed many times that there probably won’t ever be a jazz album I really dislike. And truthfully this album sort of proved me right, but it also proved me wrong. Initially, before I even started listening, I saw that this was listed as avant-garde jazz and grindcore. And I was confused as to how those two things could be even remotely related. I’ll go on record and say this is the single strangest album I have ever heard in my life. It’s avant-garde for sure. Possibly to the point where it’s almost unlistenable. Most jazz groups don’t have two drummers. This is the reason why. The first eleven songs of this record sound like the two drummers and all of the other band members are constantly fighting each other to see who can play faster and louder. It’s not the kind of sound you put on for enjoyment. It’s more often than not completely ridiculous. Then you get to the last 6 songs. Which fortunately takes a slightly less bonkers approach. It’s far closer to the jazz than I can actually appreciate. But I can’t say it really saves this album. I can recognize the skill it takes to play at that speed without it sounding totally amateurish. And even when the album is leaning more towards the normal side of jazz, it just moves too and randomly for my brain to process. Not a completely garbage album, but also not one that continues the streak in the way I would like it to. Rating: 4/10

True freak music. Sounds like the inside of a schizophrenic's head. Grindcore for beatniks. A bartenders best friend for getting 4am stragglers to leave the building. Jazz as a weapon of mass destruction.

First half is just noise

Couldn’t find this particular album but I did find some of his other music. I like. Interesting.

C'était quelque chose pis jle comprends pas.

I could only stomach seven minutes of this. It is genuinely one of the most stressful and headache-inducing experiences of my life. How is it possible to find this enjoyable? I would confess to crimes I had never committed after the opening 15 seconds just to make it stop. I've selected the first track as my favourite, but really I mean the first second or so, when hope still existed.

Uh, no thanks.

Absolutely unlistenable. This is anxiety. I hated every second of this. I am sure somebody likes this but, to me, this is a classic example of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Worst album I have heard in years. 1/5

Free jazz… ik weet hier bijster weinig van. Heb het album geluisterd, en ben er wel aardig doorheen gekomen. Paar goeie momenten die ik wel kon waarderen, vond de intense drums nice maar verder klonk ook veel als hetzelfde. Een 3 want idk wat ik echt moet geven.

Really out there. I've had the good fortune of seeing Ornette live with his band and with the Grateful Dead and I appreciate what he and Zorn have done for jazz. That said, it's difficult listening hour for sure! I don't mind some atonal stuff, but this was a bit much.

This should not be on any ‘music you should hear’ lists as it sounds like a bunch of kids pretending to play instruments. Only could stand the first 8 minutes so it deserves a -1. Garbage.

Some of these "songs" sounds like every kids first time playing the organ sound effect on a keyboard, did not enjoy.

This album was a migraine in waiting. A dumpster fire that I could not extinguish fast enough. There's a reason why you can't find this streaming on a normal platform. Because it's hot garbage.

Unbridled hot garbage flowing through a sea of complete ridiculousness on it's way to my foot, so I can put it in someone's ass for making this.

My girlfriend forced me to turn it off after 20 seconds. I Thank her.

I have respect for Ornette Coleman for innovating in jazz, even if Free Jazz as a style isn't really for me. But an album of covers, done in a "hardcore" or "trash core" or whatever style, is absolutely revolting. John Zorn and his accomplices certainly prove that they can play fast, and play all of the notes (FUCKING ALL OF THE NOTES DON'T TEST ME, could be an alternate title). But for an album that blazes through so many notes, it is shocking one-note in effect. You are left with the impression that you just got aurally gang banged, and not in a fun way. 27 minutes in—please, dear God, make it stop. What have I done to deserve such a punishment? In a sick way, this has made me appreciate Youtube ads. What used to be minor annoyances are now sweet relief from a seemingly unending assault. I hate music now.

Very unique and chaotic take on jazz.

Noisy and thunderous drumming. Eventually the saxophones begin to play more obvious melodies. Feet Music even sounds like a proper jazz piece! Seriously though, this is not mess, but it just takes concentration and a love of hard jazz to get the feel.

The first half is unrelentingly frenetic. Not for me. Too exhausting. By the time the slightly less chaotic later half came around I was so done with the whole thing. I’m going to go find somewhere to eat my lunch in silence.

Intense free jazz. Got through it, but was a bit of a struggle

I'd call this avant-garde, but the number of different letters in the term "avant-garde" makes it way too diverse a term to apply to that drivel. That was 41 minutes of utter nonsense.

Was this not just the same thing for 50 minutes? I don't get this.

Mmmmmm....Jazz. Great. Really great.

Never heard anything like this, it was so hard to get into, and yet so attracting and somehow even relaxing. It's like you listen to the chaos and stop bother, like immersing into some smoke cloud or . I'd say, you have to have a right mindset to make through this album. I'm a mess myself, so this music got into me quite easily.

I mean... these are obviously talented musicians, but this was pretty awful. There is a reason nobody uses two drummers. In their defense it did get slightly more musical in the last 4 songs, but it was still a pretty painful listen. I knew it was bad when an Applebee's ad came on and I was happy for the break.

Ce n'est pas un album qui ne s'écoute que d'une oreille. Il faudrait pouvoir à la fois démêler ce qui se joue concurremment et l'oublier pour ne saisir que l'ensemble

I kind of like C and D, Chippie, and Ecars

I don't get it.

For the spicy avant garde squonkers.

Well that was not what I was expecting at all. I didn't know of John Zorn before, and I didn't even know that thrash/punk jazz was a thing. Wild, chaotic, and unrelenting, and I really enjoyed it. Time to do some more exploring of John Zorn and Ornette Coleman. It's taken over 500 albums, but I've finally given a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating for an album (and indeed artist) that I didn't already know before this list. Sure to be a very polarising album. I expect a lot of people will hate the chaos but it worked for me, even though I hated Coltrane's chaotic albums.

Why would you do this

oh my god. this... okay this album gives me a headache. i don't like it very much. this is like... actual freeform. actual avantgarde jazz. drums pound at unimaginable tempos. saxophones squawk like a pair of birds. there's brief periods of stuff that i am able to follow but the big majority of this album is actually... i just didn't like it. it's not for me at all. i would say if you're an academic who's trying to get all they can when it comes to avant-garde jazz samplings, listen to it. but this album actually ruined my day.

An album of nyc traffic

These cats are cookin! It’s like the last few seconds of a song ending at a concert but expanded over a whole album. Probably both the weirdest and most technical/talented musicianship we’ve had so far

Seems like too much going on at once. Like a car crash or a trainwreck.

chaotic.

... the fuck? "Hey, I have an idea! Let's just randomly play our instruments as loud as we can!" "And we'll all be playing the same song?" "No way, why would we do that?! We can just call it 'art' and that way no one can criticize us!" Oh my god, this one sucked. Don't do drugs, kids.

This album sounds like bebop and punk are in a street fight for their lives. The initial impression is one of chaos, but upon a closer listening, it's revealed to be very controlled chaos. The dual saxophone and dual drum kit approach give the album a sense of urgency though the drums have a bit too much reverb on them and overpower the saxophones at times. The songs are short and to the point and just when you think the song is spiraling out of control, the musicians catch a groove and end the song abruptly.

It's like a never ending end of a song. Is it music or is it just noise? Just can't really appreciate any cohesion between the musicians beyond some fleeting moments. Rough listen.

Reading some of the other reviews, I understand why this may have been added to the list. Was it a minority choice to appease the jazz listeners? It was barely listenable, and I’m somewhat a fan of jazz. Every so often something would bloom from the chaos and be quite nice, but then degrade back into noise. The high point is that I made it through the whole album… 1.5/5

Appreciate the chaos. Disappointingly calms down somewhat as it goes along. Wouldn't recommend listening on headphones.

Abrasive in a mostly unfun way, but very interesting checking in on what jazz looks like as the 90s are approaching. Miles Davis had given us prog-infused jazz, but art moves on and now we’re firmly in the world of what punk does to the thing

Can appreciate the musical skills necessary for this, but this level of jazz is a bit hard for me to listen to.

That was painful from start to finish. JZ’s Spy vs Spy is squeaky, out of tune sax over bombastic drums and fast paced bass; it’s more like noise with musical instruments than songs. I thought I heard music on two (possibly three) occasions but it devolved into noise with musical instruments very quickly each time. I didn’t think running could get much worse, then I went running while listening to this album. It was significantly worse than usual. Trashjazz in at (0.8*s)

Unable to listen to this on Spotify, but found the full album on YouTube., although I shouldn't have bothered. Wikipedia gives the genre as Avant-Garde Jazz / Free Jazz / Punk Jazz / Thrashcore which raises so many red flags. The album title, "Spy vs Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman", is pushing the term "music" way beyond my defintion of music - I think that "vaguely musical noise" would probably be a better term. I'm 7+ minutes in, and the 5th track has just started, (I think), but it just sounds like one continuous track, and it's giving me a headache.

Can you imagine being in the studio while everyone was blasting away. Must have been so much fun! Is it good music, no. The drums feel like they're trying to trip up the sax players at times. I would be giddy if I were a fly on the wall. So many huge smile moments! However, I'd need a break after about 3 songs. Then I'd go back for more. OK, Spy vs. Spy #14 is hilarious! I don't know why it cracked me up. Do I want to hear this over and over, no. But it's fun for one or two rounds.

No esta en Spotify

Sounded like a ton of other stuff

Not available on Apple

Not streaming anywhere, I know there's a guy with a top review offering to send this if you email him, but thankfully it appears that someone has uploaded this thing to youtube. I'm listening, it's largely unpleasant. It's jazz, in a sense, if you took all the really cacophonous sections and strung them together without any of the necessary buildup or progression to make them narratively sensical or rewarding. Apparently this guy is some sort of mad scientist musician, dabbling in such genres as "thrashcore" and "grindcore." Here's a suggestion - maybe try "listenablecore." In reality, I feel like I understand what was attempted here, and I think being put off by it is kind of the point, it's deconstruction. But yeah, this isn't an album I enjoy or would want to listen to again. Not the worst thing I've heard because it does sort of achieve a concept, and I do actually respect it for being a complete departure from our usual fare. But, as a listening experience, it's pretty bad. Favorite tracks: Good Old Days. Album art: Best part about this one, surely. I remember seeing this title on the "worst albums" ranking, then seeing the cover and hoping I'd like it. It's some really great cartoons, man, such a fun variety of stuff going on that is not reflected in the music at all. Hell, they could've incorporated some actual Spy vs. Spy cartoons here too, that would've been neat. But at the end of the day, this album kinda sucks, so who cares? 2/5

Favourite tracks: feet music

Not sure where to start understanding this. Seems worth an effort.

It's interesting but I simply can not bear it

Why I love jazz. I have for a long time. I was in my high school jazz band (drums). I have listened to and appreciated jazz for the better part of two decades. I do not know what the hell this is or what it’s supposed to be. My biases are obvious to me. “Free jazz” has always been the butt of a joke, not just to me but to others. I’ve also, ignorantly, rolled my eyes at “thrashcore” and other overly-intense-sounding genres. So I admit I came into this as skeptical as can be. But I also know that I have been pleasantly surprised and happily proven wrong multiple times in this project and was ready to have that happen again. It did not. At all. This is straight up noise. I’m sorry. The first track was just noise. The second track sounded a lot like the first, which also was just noise. Whenever a track DID have some semblance of structure, it quickly went out the window and more chaos ensued. The only track that MAYBE avoided this entirely was “Broadway Blues.” One of the most astonishing things to me is that this was an album of an artist covering SOMEONE ELSE’S MUSIC. Which means someone created music that sounds like this and someone else thought “let’s cover that, that sounds great.” I’m sure there’s context I’m missing. I’m sure this genre and this album have homers (apologists?). I am not one of them. I could never be. The most telling thing about this album is that I had to find it on YouTube. It’s not on Spotify OR Apple Music. That’s because those platforms have music… 2 stars. Generously. Standout track: Broadway Blues

tolles jazz album der 90er, zorn tought und schnell

A wild record. It’s an amazing work if you sit down and pay attention and soak in the sounds. But if you’re not 100 percent into it, you’ve got a bad time on the horizon. What a sonic wonder.

Think of how much blow these guys were doing recording this bad boy.

It’s on YouTube as a 47 minute long video, which is probably its perfect form as just a meandering weird single entity. Free form jazz, much like all the other jazz we’ve had here so far, not for me.

This is a silly album. Once you get past the first couple tracks it's a little less chaotic, but yeah. Good luck keeping your sanity on this listen.

Egads. This is a rough one. If you are subject to migraines, I'd seriously suggest skipping this one. I get that free jazz is supposed to be out there -- but this just doesn't work for me. I can't imagine putting something like this on just to listen to, or even try to appreciate. But if you like the idea of thrash metal saxophone, well, this is your huckleberry. Unexpected bangers: none. Ecars and Feet Music are at least listenable. The second half of the album is somewhat less screechy. If you do get through this, it's worth listening to this playlist to see what they were drawing from. So much better. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3giq4xcBIglHlE5suAQShL?si=ca98a0fbb10d4970

You're taking the piss now

I tried... I really did... but could not tolerate this despite a few glimpses of something worth listening to sprinkled in there

3 is probably a bit generous, but it’s worth persevering with

Jazz is a mystery to me. It is at once a magical expression of orchestrated chaos and a perplexing musical dialogue of toddler gibberish. Pure nonsense at times but sure beauty at others. There is a time and a place for it in my life. I just haven’t figured it out yet. lol

Can’t make it more than 5 seconds. This is noise. Unbearable noise.

Like kicking an orchestra down the stairs of a mental hospital, I spent 40 mins laughing which may not have been the reaction they were hoping for. I imagine each musician was handed different 2 hour scores and told first one to finish wins. I honestly cant decide if this is genius or the sound track to a schizophrenic episode.

Extremely uncomfortable listen, can't imagine anyone actually sat through its entirety without going insane.

It's nothing but explosive Grindcore jazz in your face. I definitely felt the emotion they wanted to portray but my god this was a hard listen. I couldn't finish it. I don't even have a favourite song as it all felt nonsensical.

Im more of a Bill Evans and Kenny Dorham style of jazz listener. Less of a fan of this style but appreciate its complexities.

Nope. Not for me. I did not care for this. I enjoy jazz music. But this was way too much. Just wall to wall noise. The only thing that's saving it from a 1 star is the sheer uniqueness of the album. I haven't heard anything like this... Not that that's necessarily a good thing.

Alllllll that jazz

Wow this album art looks wacky. No idea what I'm in for here. JAZZ! JAZZ is what I'm in for. I'm here for jazz. I like jazz. But this, wow. This is a bit much. I recognize the chops required for this avant-garde style of music, and it is impressive, but boy howdy is it not for me.

This is, without a doubt, the most chaotic thing that I've ever heard. Imagine like two different artists just being told to do whatever the hell they want but as loud and fast as they can with no relation to one another, that's this. I feel stress just sitting on my couch listening to it. He could be the most technically talented saxophonist in the world for all I know, but why would anyone want to listen to this? The only reasonable thing is the cover art which seems to depict various violent scenes, that makes sense to me after listening to this. To top it all off, it's not even on Spotify. Do not recommend. Favorite song: Feet Music Other: Good Old Days 2/14/24

I don't know why this is so hated here. It sucks less than most of the jazz on this list. I love the drumming, its borderline menacing. No individual song goes on too long and into masturbatory territory. In the end it's still jazz and there's a limit to how much I can enjoy that genre.

Speed jazz. I'm pretty sure that at least one of these is just someone tripping over the drums and falling into the saxaphones. Squigley. Definitely squigley. I really like this quite a lot. It seems sort of like concrete poetry to me where there is a slab of language all working at the same time to do multiple things. It is amazing how the brain takes a pile of noise like this and follows different parts looking for patterns and recognizable things.

There must be a deeper meaning to this album but not sure what it is. To me unstructured.

AWFUL. Just too random.

Why did you do this John?

Album wouldn't play on Spotify

You hear one minute of this album and just wonder how the hell am I going to get through 40 more? ::Cue early memories at Nanny and Grampy's house:: The beginning is pure cacophony, like a moving truck full of instruments just flew off the road to avoid a puking cat. Then (almost exactly halfway through) the madness lines up for a few brief moments and it leaves you wondering if you're really just missing something, not understanding it or appreciating it. I'll admit the last half only improves by a small margin and listening to the full album gave me a physical stomach ache. But I can respect the free form style, the fast-pace, and the experiment. It's actually quite difficult to drum this unrhythmically and to make a saxophone squeal like that. I found myself referencing the minute's time to see which "song" I was on (and make some kind of correlation) which made it slightly more tolerable. My ears don't even really know what to do with this. It's like death-metal but make it jazz. It's either a 0 or a 5, no doubt it will be polarizing. I guess I'm glad I heard it but I would never put it on.

I actually was cracking up throughout this album. I went and listened to some of the originals and I appreciate Zorn condensing them down but it was just too chaotic. Between the squealing dolphins and dying elephants it was a riot. I think my brother-in-law could play sax in this band. 😂😂

This sounds like they told a bunch of ADHD children with no musical skill to pick up instruments and play them randomly. Car horns blaring while a set of monkeys smash drums, random elephants having their trunks stepped on, various flightless birds being picked up and punted, a litter of cats being thrown up against a wall of drums, etc. There are various ways to describe the absolute chaos over the first 20+ minutes of the album. I'm actually questioning whether myself and a group of my friends could go into a studio and spend a day to generate something more ridiculous to be passed off as music. Everything is mind boggling as to how this ended up on any sort of list by acclaimed music critics. Halfway through it all of sudden morphs into a somewhat controlled arrangement before mostly devolving again by the end of the album. All this did was confuse me whether I'm supposed to take this seriously or not. While I will never listen to this again something about it tickled me. At various intervals throughout the 40 minutes I found myself just listening and giggling like an idiot at my desk. Overall its surprising the amount of enjoyment I got out of an album that I can truly say I don't like at all. Consider me fully bamboozled. 0.05 star. Can't wait to see other reviews for this.

Woah. I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to this again. So much is happening. I can see how this could be considered good, but it's not easy or really enjoyable to listen to.

Can’t find it on Apple Music. Having read the Wiki review I can say for sure that I would have absolutely hated it. Whilst I have been surprised a few times by this list, I have complete conviction in my guesstimate of a 1 rating.

Fascinating! I can appreciate the lack of subtlety of these interesting free jazz compositions, as they are done in the style of Grindcore/ Thrash! I mean, who'd have thought Napalm Death style Jazz could possibly be a thing? I get it, but do I like it? It's very good for an improvised sonic attack. It gave me an immediate rush of adrenaline, so an emotional response which is always a huge positive for me. I shall have to give it a proper listen if I ever find a cheap copy of it. But I don't think it will ever become a regular fixture on my playlist. It's too odd (in an intriguing way) and not crap enough for a 1, so a 2.

Absolutely fucking appalling

Not sure why this album is on this list. Not a great reputation as far as I know, pretty luke warm to bad reviews (allmusic.com). So what's up? Anyway mostly hated it, but I'm not a fan of free jazz. Is this the first free jazz album I should get to explore the genre? I highly doubt it. I'm puzzled and not entertained. 1.5 stars

41 minutes of schreechy, squealing, headache-inducing chaos. Entirely too much going on and if anyone tells you they find this album sonically pleasing, they are lying to you. I award this album no points, and may God have mercy on its soul.

I like jazz. I like some experimental music. I even like some experimental jazz. In fact, I like Ornette Coleman! This album, not really. Much like the Circle Jerks album I listened to right before this one, it’s not for me. I get it, but I’m fine with only listening to this once. But hey, you know what? I’m glad I read a couple of reviews first. I was ready to give up, thinking the whole album was going to sound like the first 10 minutes or so, but there ended up being a few tracks that had a bit of an actual groove to them. It’s not going to bring my rating up much but it’s a 2 with a caveat.

Inject this straight in to my veins

Everyone solo at the same time!

Irritating. Some tiny shows halfway through that they can make listenable music but they spent all their energy on being alternative instead

It's a cool mess, but it is still a mess. Only the most hard core Jazz fans could appreciate this interpretation. Ornette Coleman does free-jazz - when musicians attempt to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes (Wikipedia). One song is fine, the whole album is just too much all at once! 3/5

I know it's Jazz... But it's a little too Jazzy for my liking... Great musicians though. Fair play.

Album is not on Spotify, so no standout tracks. Lyrics/Vocals- N/A Instrumentals- I honestly don't fucking know Vibes- 0/5 Overall- 1/5 Avant garde is not for me, but I figured I'd give this a try. Holy shit I tried... it's a cacophony of noise. It sounds like somebody rubbing balloons together and stepping on rubber ducks while someone else fills a dryer full of loose change. My cat hated it. I let a few YouTube ads play all the way through just to get a break from it. That said though, it takes a level of impressiveness and talent to improv in such a way. This album was not for me, and I know very few people who would actually like this album if any at all. But, if you're looking for a quick way to end a college party then look no further.

Okay, looks like an early inspiration for Fantomas. With albums like this you have to appreciate the virtuosity, but it only gives you a binary approach - you love it, or you hate it, no in-between. And even though I tried, it was just a straight way to epilepsy. Still, a really interesting and original album.

Yeah. Okay. Sure. I get it. This is the ultimate, "meta commentary on the state of music. We're saying 'fuck you' to genre and tradition while paying respects to a real master of his craft. We actually don't want you to like this music. We have no intention on catering to mainstream audiences." Or maybe it's not saying that. This whole album calls into question the idea of creating art for art's sake. Is it more important to create something that represents YOU and is 100% what you want, regardless of how accessible or listenable it might be, or do you need to respect that audiences require a base level of accessibility in order to enjoy your art? I think for me, while the former is certainly more important (great art is never made for someone else), an artist needs to realize that once they put something out into the world, it's no longer theirs. It's their audience's. And I also think there needs to be SOMETHING for the audience to grab a hold of. In this case, tempo, some semblance of melody or structure at least. And we DO get those things in spurts here. This isn't some mess devoid of anything you'd call "music," but it's pretty far from accessible. I don't want to hyper criticize this album, because I do relate to Zorn in a way here. He's a creator that tries very hard to not to fit in any mold. And we see too many artists find their niche and stick with it, which can be very limiting. I think this album needs to be on this list. I needed to hear this before I die so I could understand the depths of how batshit free jazz/hardcore could get. In all honesty, give it a few tracks. Let the initial wave wash over you and stick with it. The back half stabilizes quite a bit. I don't know if that does the album any favors, but I think there might be more here than what's presented on first listen. What that more is...I'll let you know when I figure it out.

All I’m left thinking after this record took my eardrums on a ride pugnaciously piloted by two saxophonists, two drummers, and a bassist is, “Let’s go again!”

While this wasn't easy listening, I really appreciated the talent and their endurance.

I dont care for this type of jazz

The contrast with the chaos really makes those brief moments of harmony feel much sweeter. The drums are way too boomy, and make pretty much the entire album sound bad.

Percebi mais como uma lista aleatória do que um disco concebido para ter unidade. Muito experimental e pouco agradável

I'm not ready for this...

orkade inte ens bry mig om att försöka hitta denna, den har inte särskilt bra betyg och jag tror inte att jag kommer gilla den ändå. Ger två stjärnor för en känns kanske lite väl...

Not my thing. I like jazz but this sounded pretty chaotic and didn't have much flow to it. 1/5.

100percent unlistenable

Normalerweise höre ich die Alben immer beim Lernen, hätte mich bei dem aber glaube ich danach einliefern lassen müsse.

Ich verstehe Jess nicht.

Tandon Scale Rating: -1 Standouts: none Foot Notes: 1 1:18 in and I’m having an anxiety attack 2 nope I can’t do it Would I Listen Again: they played this to get information out of other spys Album Cover Rating: (1-5) 5 Album Name Rating: (1-5) 2

Fucking phenomenal. Sounds like a manic episode. I'm absolutely obsessed, new favorite study music

Obviously, the predecessor to clown-core. Louis Cole and Sam Gendel have done the genre proud and carried on the sound. As an origin, this is "groundbreaking"?

Apple Music did not have this, so I listened on YouTube. Pure chaos. Not much else to say besides it belongs on this list. I haven't heard anything quite like this before. Two saxophones, two drummers, and one bass?

Oh god no, not sure what I was expecting but not that

not for me

This was something... not good. The first half was complete saxophone nonsense, but starting with Ecars, it became something somewhat listenable. It still wasn't great, but still beats out some things on this list. A hard 1 for the first half, but the second half is redeeming enough to get this to a low 2/5

One's def not a jazz purist but is effectively trolled, so mission accomplished if that was the intent. The few moments of tunefulness just get buried in the almost unvarying cacophony, and all the fast and fierce playing is to no real effect (to one's ears anyway) other than an aggregation of extreme sounds. It's an interpretation meant to overwhelm. And the overall obnoxiousness is certainly not Ornette's fault. As much as one admires out-there artists ready to push the boundaries, just because it can be done doesn't mean it should.

La mayoría de las canciones son difíciles de digerir (la 1ra es insufrible) Prefiero por lejos el jazz clásico. Algunas canciones tienen forma y se pueden disfrutar (la 2da parte del disco). Si bien entiendo y respeto el planteo de una escucha distinta de la música dentro del disco y del estilo, no es algo que elegiría escuchar.

Not for me

I'm slowly getting into jazz

Good tribute to Coleman

Noisy noise. Sounds like squealing tires and highway congestion. Sounds like sweaty bodegas and the heat pouring off the concrete. Sounds like the clash between rioters and police. Sounds like the cry of a million desperate souls yearning desperately to be free of these monetary chains. Sounds like America.

It grew on me but this was very unique

My first thought is “this is going to be interesting.” Then I read other commenters' comments (while trying to find files to listen to) and expected Ascension-level chaos. I was surprised how Zorn stayed faithful to OC's original intentions. Not my cup of tea, but Zorn deserves credit.

This is 41 minutes of fucking intense free form jazz. Ornette Coleman's music is taken and cranked to 11, with and almost metal or punk sensibility to the songs. I can't imagine this intensity allowing for extended play so it almost makes sense they are fairly short songs. Good Old Days is my favorite since it has a consistent hook that's discernable throughout, but Feet Music has a slower, almost rock beat to it.

Nope. The worst kind of “jazz”. I don’t even consider this music. If I could give 0 stars I would. Some people abuse the privilege of being able to release music.

The cover art is the best thing about the album along with the last track being over. It is as if someone who just finished doing 5½ fat long white lines of nose candy, picked up their instrument and yelled RECORD DAMN IT! I have gotten through 10 minutes yet I feel like I have spent a lifetime trying to find a melody.

There were glimmers of music which I could enjoy in here but they were few, far between and didn't last long. I think that enjoying this sort of music takes a lot of work, which I'm not prepared to put in for this.

That's to much random Jazz for my liking. I get it; it's Jazz, but it's not the type I enjoy. It comes at you hard right out the gate.

This album isn't available to me here.

If two saxophones and two drums ganged up and beat the hell out of you, this is what it would sound like. Relentless, bruising and totally hardcore. A bit much but man the drumming is incredible. Props to Joey Baron and Michael Vatcher. I didn't hate this.

1/5 for making me scour the internet to find this pile of sh!t.

it's literally just noise.

Freejazz trifft Punk. Ich finde es schrecklich....

Can't find it anywhere

Pure fxcking anarchy!! Beyond the maniacal skronking, however, there’s thought to be found in the organization. Even some tracks that sound almost like normal jazz, such as “Ecars”. This one of Zorn’s earliest breakthroughs, and some would see it’s one of his best! Very happy to see it included, sad that it didn’t arrive on streaming along with the rest of his discography

Rating: 10/10

I have been struggling with the jazz on this list lately, but this is SO cool. First song is almost purposely offputting, but it all works by the end. So cool.

Pure noise. Didn't like it at all.

Anything that TRULY broadens my horizons earns a perfect score in my eyes. That was batshit insane.

Ornette Coleman was a great jazz musician and his work deserves to be celebrated…but I’m not sure this is the way to do it. The beauty of the arrangements is lost in a cacophony of blistering drums and screeching trumpets.

Listened Before? No I usually won't go out of my way to find an album if it isn't on Spotify, but given the group hate this has sown, I'll make an exception. Opens on an absolute torrent with all instruments involved conspiring in an all out melee. In some senses it is damned impressive that despite them all running 1000 mph in different directions they sound coherent; particularly towards the end when it all comes back together for a punctuated finale. Track 2: oh... we're gonna do a whole album like this? Honestly this is pretty damned punk. Track 3: early standout for me. Actually starts out coherent and immediately deconstructs. I enjoy searching for the bassline as it noodles around behind the scenes tying things together. Track 4 (Good Old Days): is pretty sick to start with. Has a straight up metal breakdown out of the gate. Whoever is on drums is absolutely slaying. So far this reminds me of a much more demented Cuong Vu (if you like aspects of this, but want more structure, I recommend you check his work out). Paused for a minute during Ecars, because I realized this album is a representation of another Jazz saxophonist's compositions. I encourage anyone listening to this to pause and reflect on those songs and then hop back into this rendering. It is damned impressive that this hardcore rendering actually captures a vital essence of the original work while completely turning them on their head. I had not heard Ornette Coleman before, but will take a sidebar into his work later. Fleet Music is another standout. Love the punchy drum and bass that propel this in a very punk-influenced spirit. One of few songs here that feel like they are practicing measured restraint. Alright, so I understand the hate that this album got from other reviewers. This is a dense and unrelenting listen that serves as a sort of audio assault and does nothing to accommodate casual listeners. I think ultimately, that is the point. From what I can gather this is basically Hardcore punk stylization applied to traditional Jazz compositions using the original instrumentation. It is a wild ride that is punk through and through. That said, I rather enjoy hardcore punk and think that this is highly effective and a unique application of the style that I have never encountered previously. While I can't say there were any isolated tracks I would go back to and "enjoy," there were a lot of points in the record that I stopped what I was doing to appreciate the absolute chaotic energy on display. Underpinning the whole thing, the instrumentalists are incredibly talented making this enjoyable for me, and fantastic background music for my current task. I will absolutely come back to this and listen again. Not a perfect album, but something new that I am glad to have been exposed to. 4 / 5.

In my professional opinion, they should have played better so that this album would have sounded better. I hate John Zorn more than I hate Jim Zorn after listening to this.

Now I have a headache.

Annoying it's not on Apple Music! Or at least it's hard to find so had to go to Youtube for this one. Well this already isn't some early morning easy listening. Alright not gonna lie I did not make it all the way through on this one. A song would end and then immediately go into what sounded like the exact same jazz-thrash as before. I'm very cool with music like that but not an entire albums worth. 1.5 and rounding down. I won't be back. Also John Zorn is probably Jim Zorn's brother so he can go right ahead and fuck himself.

It was a struggle for me to finish this album, but I pulled through, knowing that I will never listen to it again! To me that’s just noise and it managed to gave me a slight headache.

Tour de force, tvö trommusett, tveir saxófónar og bassi. Aldrei dauð stund, bókstaflega. Hér er allt á yfirsnúningi. Fyrstu þrjár mínúturnar eru erfiðastar en svo verður þetta áhugavert. Já, gæti spilað þetta aftur einhvern daginn.

Wild. An uncompromising listen but always interesting and when the noise coalesces at times, it's fantastic. Gets far more listenable in the second half if you're struggling (and you can tell from the reviews who only listened to a few seconds then dropped a 1 on it)

did i get past the halfway point of this album. no. is there any reason to. i think probably also no.

Wow this may be to Avant Garde fir it's own good. It's difficult to think of a situation where I'd ever voluntarily put this on again, certainly not in a public setting. Could not be setbreak music, it would freak way to many people out. That said, they were definitely going for IT and trying something weird and new so theres that.

If I ever want to cause a panic attack I will listen to this again. I struggled with the lack of melody, lack of beat, it was too chaotic. It felt like brass players trying to one up each other.

This is the perfect blend of the New York-London-Tokyo punk jazz. The album itself approaches free jazz from the perspective of hardcore punk, particularly taking note of the contemporary innovations of thrashcore and grindcore. I loved this album and listened to it multiple times today - a new classic for sure! Was it aggressive throughout? Yes. Did it need to let up on the gas a bit and breathe in the second half? Most definitely. Did I love it anyways? Absolutely!

When I first started the record I thought to myself, "this isn't jazz. This is a hardcore album". Upon reading the wikipedia article, it became clear that it's not an accident. In fact it's the whole concept of Spy vs Spy. The production is exciting throughout. The drums sound killer! I have no familiarity with the originals so my enjoyment of the versions on this album are not what they could be, but I still loved the thrash and frenetic energy of the recording.

This is not an ensemble; it's a bunch of musicians playing random shit on their instruments for 40 minutes. How the fuck this made it on this list, I will never know. There are moments where you can somewhat hear the virtuosity of individual instruments, but the whole is not better than the sum of the parts. This is like listening to a bunch of children playing whatever the fuck they want on their instruments. My beginner youth orchestra sounded better than this. Maybe this is what jazz sounds like to aliens.

I can't say if Ornette Coleman ever heard this album, but I like to think he would approve. John Zorn and his band spin Coleman's free jazz in a new direction, taking influence from the 80s hardcore scene, with two (!!) sets of blistering drums, a heavy bass guitar, and short, quick compositions. With a different saxophone improvising in each ear you're blasted with a beautiful wall of sound. A pleasant and unexpected discovery for me.

p615. 1989. 1 star Intolerable and unremittingly violent jazz improvisation. My ears are bleeding.

What a cool and super deep rabbit hole!

Dear god. Made it 11 minutes in and had to stop. Was on YouTube so I couldn’t even read anything to distract myself. Kept thinking something listenable would come on eventually. It did not

Jazzin elementit: Blues, Ragtime ja Marssi Uuden ajan tekojen tuska ei näy blues puolella. Ragtimen synkooppinen rytmi on taas pelkkä naurunalaisuus, sillä maple leaf rag on näiden poikien mielestä klassista. Punkin sentään pojat luontavat yksinkertaiseksi, niinkuin se on. Klassinen ei siis 80 luvun lopulle käy ja punkkiin eivät pojat alistu. Puhallinsoittimien Tim bernen vasen ja John Stornen oikea ovat marssista kaukana. Halkaistu sotilas ei pitkälle kävele.. Ja kun looginen puoli ja artistinen ovat täysin irrallisena, saadaan mielettöman hauska trash jazz albumi.

Holy everloving shit. I am glad I read a few album reviews to understand what the intention of this album was. That was hard to listen to. I do recognize the experimental nature of the music, and there are some cool components to it, especially the fact that it's all improv I think, but that was extremely overwhelming with no breaks and not particularly fun.

I mean good for them for trying something new? But really difficult to follow

Warning: It's jazz. Bad jazz.

Alright I’ll be real, wasn’t expecting hardcore jazz. Not mad at it though.

Potser s'ho van passar d'allò més bé mentre l'enregistraven. Per l'oient, però, escoltar-ho és més un repte que un plaer. I per disfrutar-lo s'ha de ser molt fan del free jazz o de les improvisacions de caire més provocatiu. Entremig de les improvisacions i enfrontament d'instruments, hi ha algun tema que destaca, com 'Feet Music' o 'Mob Job', però tot plegat és força complicat de pair

An interesting selection for this list, I had thought the list was based on what are considered the best or landmark albums, not sure this fits either category and perhaps added for shock value. I read elsewhere that Ornate Coleman has not made the list and yet this has, very odd and I wonder on the integrity of the selection. As to the album, it is a very tough listen for those unfamiliar with the more free-form / avant garde styles of jazz. The first few tracks are particularly challenging with a cacophony of noise seemingly each trying to outplay the other band members. However it becomes more accessible with later tracks and even sometimes a tune breaks through. I am intrigued on the appeal of this type of jazz and will consider exploring further.

This is the worst thing I’ve heard in my life. Reminiscent of a school jazz band before the conductor has arrived, it could be used as a cruel and unusual punishment method. The only reason it gets 1 star is because it isn’t possible to give negative scores.

Very nice

It’s never a good sign when I see that I’ve been generated album by an experimental saxophonist. You might not believe it, but it’s not really my scene. Smooth jazz trumpet, sure. Experimental saxophone, doubt it. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: none When was the last time you listened to an album that’s existence made you angry? This sounded like a bunch of people playing their own songs on their own instruments as fast as they can without a care in the world for what the other band members are doing. I feel like people that enjoy this are also the people who somehow manage to find beauty in a wet floor sign in an art gallery. If you’re deaf, you might be able to tolerate this. If not, stay away. It’s not worth harming yourself by listening to this mess.

Sounds like a bunch of kids playing random notes and beats. Not for me.

This is a lot of chaotic noise. I’m only on track one. We’ll see how the rest of this goes and whether I make it all the way through. Five minutes in: Ok, I’m hearing some actual melody. Six minutes in: Never mind. Nine minutes in: I’m tapping out.

Solo lo he encontrado en YouTube subido a las bravas por un usuario. Unos 40 minutos de jazz. Empieza demasiado arriba para mi gusto ¿heavy jazz? Esto es infumable, supongo que habrá quien le guste pero le meto una estrella y listo.

I don't know how to describe it properly, but this feels like screaming into a pillow without having to open my mouth. This genre of music is more effective than any kind of ADHD medicine and always seems to calm my brain. I want to grind this album up and snort it. Hopefully I'm not alone on that one. I can't believe someone listened to Ornette Coleman and went "hmm.. this jazz isn't quite avantgarde enough for me" and then recorded this. Absolute madman. I grant this a 4/5, but also fuck you John Zorn.

All throttle, no brakes. The musicianship here – no, the *athleticism* on display here is amazing. Sprinting through a marathon the whole time. I *like* Ornette Coleman. I love *his* free jazz. I love what he brought to music. There's a purity in his performances. Zorn's interpretation is too much. Now I'm going to listen to Trout Mask Replica to cleanse my palate.

I actually had a slight headache when I started this. Somehow, I couldn't get myself to stop it. The headache ended up going away! Like the music absorbed it? Still, I can't imagine listening to this except on rare occasions. The weirdest part of the album was Feet Music when it went all 'normal'. I think the artist of cover also did a cover for Coldcut that same year. Hope that album's on the list.

This isn’t it. I’m not into these instruments, except the drums.

Skronky. It's great, but it's not the most accessible jazz album ever.

Not for me

Mostly a lot of fun, but not really for me massively, would be great live.

So, finally got round to it. This is fun, it seems more structured than the other John Zorn album I’ve ever heard, Naked City. It’s a shame the only way I can listen to it is on YouTube, cos I’d like to revisit it more often. C’est la vie

Chaotic greatness.

While I can recognize the importance of the work in the Sphere of All Musical Endeavor.... I really just do not enjoy hearing these noises. I've even seen John Zorn in concert, and it's just as unbearable.

Unlistenable

I need to hold 1s on other albums so I have something to mark this one with

Ornette coleman is one of the more controversial but interesting jazz cats. He formulated a system of music called harmolodics which he could never quite explain but was to do with removing the limitations of key, rhythm, tempo and harmony. So, this explains this. John zorn is an excellent interpreter of coleman and a great avany grade composer in his own right. This is an excellent interpretation with a-list musicians of the highest quality. Dimery clearly doesn’t understand this type of stuff. I suspect he read some reviews and felt oh this better go on. 1 star for it being here. 5 stars as a work of music. 1 star for its danceability. 3 stars.

Proof that music is best live. They are... totally smashing it with improv; yes a great performance and in tune collaboration... if you can handle it. there are some very good build ups drops and crashendos in this polyphony. great to drop in and experince this briefly, and I was also glad I could get out when I wanted to after a few tracks, without losing my cover charge. a document in jazz high energy improv. yet not something I'm like to go back to ... so very hard to give it a number. 5 for quality, 2 for wanting to listen again, 3.5 overall? not fair.

John Zorn - from another planet. I’ve got 4 Coleman cd’s & 1 lp, & I thought they were difficult enough listening, but Zorn makes Coleman’s music even more challenging. Mind you, I only have 1 Zorn cd - The Big Gundown - where he plays the music of Ennio Morricone - and that’s a much more relaxing listen than Spy Vs. Spy. Still, I got through this, without knowing any of the Coleman originals, because none of them are on any of the 5 releases I own. I wonder if knowing the originals would help? I don’t mind the cacophonous approach up to a point, although I reckon the AllMusic reviewer, Scott Yanow totally nails it : "The performances are concise with all but four songs being under three minutes and seven under two, but the interpretations are unremittingly violent. The lack of variety in either mood or routine quickly wears one out". I really liked Feet Music & Mob Job, the 2 longest cuts here. Anyway, I’m gonna go back to this one day when I’m totally off my face & see what that’s like.

interesting that there are no Ornette Coleman albums on this list, but John Zorn's tribute to Ornette Coleman... Dimery's bias towards white, critically lauded artists continues? John Zorn has carved out a little niche for himself in music, but I disagree that you really need to hear his stuff to lead a fulfilled life. I feel like Wynton Marsalis spent the 1980s championing 'straight-ahead' jazz, attempting to set jazz in aspic and stifle any sense of innovation in the form. But Zorn showed that there were still people pushing the form into genuinely new areas that built on the traditions of the form (in this case, free jazz). Zorn's crossover between free jazz and hardcore is convincing, even if borderline unlistenable. Moments of melody poke through the noise to hint at structure, only to disappear again into the unrelenting aggressive noise. It has been influential -- I am going to see Party Dozen this week, I'm sure they were highly influenced by this album. But it's exhausting to listen to. The only track I came close to really enjoying is Feet Music.

I like jazz and many of free jazz in general but I was deeply disappointed in this album. It is actually a tribute but was way overdone. The first half is practically unlistenable and not accessible at all, it improves a bit in the second half but it is still messy, noisy without any direction or harmonies. I managed to listen to it but it was enough for once in my life, thank you very much.

Dude took Ornette's music and made it even crazier. That's saying something.

The "I listen to everything" kind of people are crying in a corner right now.

Kick ass jazz album that won't let you breath for a second. Love it. Glad that John Zorn is in the 1001, even if it's a tribute album.

Noisy, not enjoyable

I was curious to listen to this album, as I had heard that John Zorn was a talented and innovative saxophonist and composer. However, I was very disappointed by what I heard. The album is a tribute to Ornette Coleman, a pioneer of free jazz, but it does not do justice to his legacy. Instead, it is a chaotic and noisy mess that tries to combine free jazz with hardcore punk, thrashcore and grindcore. The album consists of 17 tracks, all composed by Coleman, but performed in a very brief and intense style by Zorn and his band. The tracks range from 1 to 4 minutes in length, but they feel much longer due to the lack of structure, melody and harmony. The saxophones are constantly screeching, squealing and clashing in stereo, while the bass and drums provide a frenetic and erratic rhythm. The music is so loud and abrasive that it gave me a headache after listening to it. I understand that Zorn wanted to experiment with different genres and challenge the conventions of jazz, but I think he went too far with this album. It is not enjoyable or accessible to listen to, and it does not capture the spirit or the beauty of Coleman's music. Even more frustrating that Coleman himself doesn’t have an album on the list! It is an insult to both jazz and punk fans, and a waste of time and money. I would not recommend this album to anyone, unless they want to torture themselves or their enemies. I give it 1 star out of 5. (Lost an extra star due to this being picked over an actual Coleman album)

Excellent jazz!

Not as "extreme" as I thought it would be, honestly. This record having one of the lowest global scores on this app, I was already aware of its "reputation" through some of the reviews left here. I was expecting utter chaos. Well, chaos is there, there's no arguing about that. But good music is there too, as "tiring" as said music may be for some virgin ears. Oh, by the way: wikipedia rants about the supposed "grindcore" and "thrashcore" influences on those Ornette Coleman covers, but I gotta say that those influences sound quite superficial to me. Maybe I'm deaf to them, I don't know, but I'm relatively familiar with those genres, so I don't think I'm talking though my hat here... Indeed, it seems to me that the so-called "punk influences" on *Spy vs Spy* mostly came from the fact that John Zorn was hanging out with members of that scene at the time. But essentially, what we have here is more like an amped-up and sped-up version of free-jazz, which doesn't owe a lot to hardcore punk, except for a few quick, subliminal rhythm patterns once in a while. As a matter of fact, and for the first four or five tracks at least, you can easily link this work to the free-jazz giants of the preceding decades. You just need to add more amphetamines or cocaine to the mix. Symbolically speaking, of course... Things get even more hectic in the middle of the LP though, somewhere between "Enfant" and "Ecars". Zorn and company are making a mean and wonderful racket there, and aspirin is highly recommended by that point. Yet starting with "Feet Music", Zorn and his musicians let things breathe a little again. The proceedings are not exactly "mellow" there, mark my words--but there's a film-noir dimension to some of those cuts that's, well... interesting. Those last cuts would rather illustrate frantic action scenes, instead of melancholic ones, obviously. But once again, we're not so far from certain other jazz traditions that also hailed form NYC. Now the real problem with the presence of this record in Dimery's list does not come from the record itself, very ironically. As "weird" as *Spy vs Spy* is, it is what it is--not worse than plenty of other "experimental" recordings out there, and probably even better than many others. No, the real issue stems from the following situation: a) There's no Ornette Coleman album in the 1001 Albums book. Yet every jazz fan knows how much of a pivotal (and controversial) figure he was at the turn of the sixties. It's a little as if the book had selected an album made out of covers of Bob Dylan without selecting any of Bob's original albums. Including *The Shape Of Jazz To Come* in the book would probably have been enough. Yet, like so many jazz masterpieces--especially in the subcategory of free jazz--said album is conspicuously absent from Dimery's work. b) I'm no more of an expert about John Zorn than I am one of Ornette Coleman, but I happen to have a couple of friends who know him quite well. I can't say that I've dug any further after the evenings we spent together when they played some of Zorn's works to me (it was a long time ago, and I only have a blurry memory of what the music sounded like). Yet I'm adamant they never told me about *Spy vs Spy*'s existence. When it comes to Zorn's hardcore-free-jazz and film-noir-oriented work, they probably played *Naked City*, with its reference points going from Ennio Morricone's soundtracks to the Cramps and B52s gothic strands of 50s rock. And they surely played excerpts from the "world-music-oriented" collection of "Masada" albums--summing up a lot of the man's overall sense of sonic adventure. Those albums (*Naked City* and the *Masada" collection) have even been the starting point of two of Zorn's most famous side-projects as a group member--side-priojects actually named after those LPs. Which probably proves how important those records are in his discography. To put it in a nutshell, it appears that Dimmery's inclusion of *Spy vs Spy* is a disservice not only to *one* artist whose name is associated with the project, but to *two* of them, both Coleman and Zorn. Besides, it doesn't take an expert to quickly get that this record is a very poor entry point to know more about those two legendary musicians. It's too "niche", and not much more than an anecdote compared to the greater picture I'm sensing here--once again, both for Ornette Coleman and John Zorn. So I'm gonna have to do my own research elsewhere, I'm afraid... I'm still giving a 3/5 grade to *Spy vs Spy* according to the purposes of this list of "essential" albums (translating to a 8/10 grade for more general purposes--5+3). Because I feel like the record's global score is unfairly low, given what it really is and the sort of audience it aims at. Yet I can't argue with the innocent listeners who have been confronted to the album without having the slightest contextual elements in hand to understand the global works of the artists who originated this music, in one way or another. Which is why I don't feel like it's necessary to include this LP is a general list of "essential" albums. Let potentially interested people come to it through other (and longer) paths. Exposing it like this, without any preliminary caution or explanation, is only exposing it to ridicule from the masses. Which is pretty unfair. Number of albums left to review: 417 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 269 Albums from the list might* include in mine later on: 142 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 178 (including this one).

Its John Zorn. Dont know what I was expecting and I was still bored.

Ummmm yeah, so that just happened. I feel like my eardrums were violently assaulted by crap and will never be the same again. Sucks so bad. No wonder everybody else hates it too.